


Happy Anniversary!

by WStock



Series: The Royal Family of New Orleans [6]
Category: The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 01:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17194325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WStock/pseuds/WStock
Summary: Times have been hard lately but it's time to forget that now because it's Tiana and Naveen's second wedding anniversary and they're off to the beautiful exotic island of Lisle to celebrate.





	Happy Anniversary!

As she leaned against the balcony of the LaBouff mansion on Mardi Gras of 1926, her dreams crushed before her eyes, Tiana had no idea how much her life was about to change. She could never have predicted the unbelievable, even ludicrous events which were about to take place.

But as she looked back at the small frog standing on the balcony, it all seemed to happen at once. Suddenly, the frog was talking, claiming to be a prince from a far-away country, begging her to kiss him, and she did, and then she herself was a frog, and they were sailing through the bayou to a 197-year-old voodoo priestess's house with a talking alligator and a talking firefly, and then she was preventing an evil voodoo man's scheme to murder Charlotte's father and inadvertently sending the Shadow Man to his death, and then the firefly, too, was dead, and she found herself marrying the frog, and going off to live with him in his palace in Maldonia. And before she knew it, she was the Queen of Maldonia, and she was forced to deal with still more problems and difficult situations. Certainly it had seemed to slow down over the past month, but then on her husband's birthday, nearly 100 commoners ran into the palace and into her very bedroom and were promptly driven out of the window by 21 guards, who too perished from the fall. How well she had gotten to know many of those guards, and in an instant, they all were taken from her forever, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

But her life had changed for the better, overall. She was married to the man of her dreams, living the life of her dreams, and all her problems were long behind her now. It was March 15, 1928, the second anniversary of her marriage to that little green frog who lay beside her now in the great old bed, still asleep.

Tiana gazed around the bedroom, hardly able to believe that it was true, that she was lying in bed in a royal palace, the Queen of a foreign country. And yet her thoughts momentarily drifted to how dreadful the grandfather clock looked, crammed into a corner of the room.

Presently Naveen woke up, yawning and spreading his arms, then he opened his eyes and smiled. "Ah, it is morning, my queen, and such a lovely morning, is it not? A morning only fit for the 2nd anniversary of the King and Queen of Maldonia's marriage, would you say?"

Tiana looked over at him and smiled. "You remembered."

"Oh, yes," Naveen said. "I was not there when you were born, but the day I was wed to the most wonderful, beautiful woman in the world - tell me, how could I ever forget it?"

"I hope you're talking about me," Tiana remarked.

"Who else?"

He wrapped his arms over her and rubbed them up and down her back and then began in a lustful tone, "Do you remember 3 months ago near the end of the year when I had planned a peaceful island get-away for us on the wonderful, exotic island of Lisle?"

"Mmm-hmm," she said, nodding as he now put his hands around her hips.

"I had planned for us to have such a marvelous, relaxing time! But then the trip was quite forgotten after a more pressing matter suddenly took place."

"Your sister's suicide," Tiana chimed in, recalling the kind young maid who had been so unsure of herself and so maltreated and neglected before Tiana had taught her to be proud and stand up for herself - and then she had murdered the wicked Duke, Lucas, who had so abused her and caused so much trouble for the Royal Family in his quest to get back the title which Naveen had rightfully taken from him, and (unfortunately) a young woman named Naomi Gili who happened to be there, as well, and she had shortly afterwards poisoned herself out of guilt, and so she was not there, and so she was never to be again, and so Tiana missed her deeply in her heart, right over the place that called out yearning to be filled where the twenty-one valued guards had died one month ago.

Naveen continued, "But I did not forget as you so most understandably did, in your grief (although I too grieve for my dear sister, may she rest in peace with good Bolda)." (Tiana's hairs prickled; she always felt very uncomfortable when Naveen brought up Bolda.) "And I made the necessary arrangements for us to take our much-needed vacation to the island today, on the Second Anniversary of our wedding, a day truly to be honored and never to be forgotten." He stuck his face over hers and kissed her forehead twice. "I hope you agree, my darling Queen; it would be a great disappointment if you did not."

"Well, all right," Tiana agreed at once.

"Good," Naveen said, smiling. "The car will be ready outside at 9:00."

"And, of course, we will be bringing James," Tiana added.

"Right, right," Naveen said, nodding.

"And I hope you know I will not be walking along the beach without no bathing suit on," Tiana continued. "I'm afraid I have a bit more dignity than you, your Majesty." But she changed the subject, adding: "I would like to have breakfast first, though."

"Of course. My Queen needs her breakfast to remain the healthy, beautiful Queen she is, loved by the citizens and her King and Government alike." He felt quite sure it was true. The people's blame and anger over the deaths of their fellow members was placed mainly on Yadav and the guards and the sheer stupidity and childish adventure of their deceased and dearest loved ones. (Although Naveen had discovered it was his mother, Nagina, who was truly responsible, he found he could not tell the people this.) "What will my Queen have?" he asked, clasping his arms over her waist.

"The usual," Tiana replied. "Toast, bacon, scrambled eggs, and some coffee."

"Simple, yet satisfying," Naveen said, nodding. "My love has the best taste."

And so the servants brought in the breakfast, then Naveen ordered for himself a more filling breakfast of noodles and ham, bread pudding with orange sauce, breakfast pastries, and smoked trout crostini.

When they were done eating Naveen took a shower, then they both changed into the least formal clothes they had and went off to the meeting room where Nigel and Clifford were already seated at the long table. They were both dressed in their royal uniforms, so all were surprised and uncomfortable as the King and Queen entered and sat at the head of the table.

Naveen cleared his throat, and casually removed a cigarette from his pack. "Gentlemen, I want to make absolute certain you understand that all the Royal duties shall be placed upon you," he said, tapping the cigarette on the table. "All appointments shall be canceled or postponed." He struck a match on the table and held it to his cigarette.

"Of course, your Majesty," Clifford replied, flicking ash into the ashtray in front of him. "We are more than willing to take up the responsibility."

"Yes," Nigel grunted, puffing a cloud of smoke out of his mouth and nodding.

"All business shall be handled to the utmost?" Naveen flicked a piece of ash onto the ashtray.

"Of course it will, Your Majesty," Nigel said, looking annoyed, but attempting to be respectful. "Just go off and have a lovely anniversary. The kingdom is in good hands, we assure you!"

"And I trust I will not come back and find you have started a war with Tyfalsh?" Naveen asked gravely.

Nigel appeared very uncomfortable and simply sat there, staring with his mouth dangling open, licking his lips nervously, and mashing out his cigarette frantically. Naveen, Tiana, and Clifford all glared at him, watching him with narrowed eyebrows.

"You are not to start any wars while I am gone, Nigel," Naveen said in a dangerous voice. "Do you understand me?"

Clifford butted his cigarette out in the ashtray, and said, "Rest assured, Your Majesty, I shall make sure to prevent any such actions from taking place unless there is no other option."

"I don't want your promise. I want his," Naveen said, still watching Nigel.

Nigel leaped from his chair, red-faced, and roared, "I vow to you, on my honor as a Maldonian citizen, on my soul as a patriot, and on my..."

"Good to know," Naveen said. He flicked ash onto the tray and asked, “Is there any royal business left to take care of?"

"All the official condolence letters to the family of the deceased have been sent. All victims identified, all the guards have been replaced," Clifford said.

"Now, have a happy, happy anniversary!" Nigel cried, waving his right arm in the air. Then in a burst of passion, he leaped onto the table and screamed, "And may you be married for many more years to come, and may each year be more prosperous than the next, and may..." His feet were unsteady on the pile of papers they stood upon, and he lost his balance and released a cry of panic. Tiana jumped back as he fell onto the part of the floor where she had been standing.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" she cried, utterly taken aback.

Naveen glared at Nigel, filled with a burning shock and fury. Clifford merely rolled his eyes and lit a cigarette. Nigel's eyes grew wide as he realized what he had nearly done, and at once he leaped up and then bowed low onto the floor.

"Your Majesty, I beg your forgiveness, I implore you I regret my offense so sincerely, may you live two-hundred years..." he said in a low voice.

"You are forgiven. Now, calm down and stop jumping on tables, and then you won't need to ask nobody for no forgiveness," Tiana said severely.

But Nigel was very quiet and muttered, "I am only fit for the firing squad" in a low tone over and over again as the King and Queen left, to which Naveen replied, in a voice choked with fury, "Perhaps one of these days."

And so they shook hands and left to the nursery where Graciela sat waiting with the baby James in her arms. He was groggy, half-awake and half-asleep, and stared at them through partly-opened eyes.

"He was up all night crying. I couldn't get him to sleep," Graciela explained apologetically.

"It will be best for you to get used to it, my son. Soon, you will have a sibling who will keep you up every night!" Naveen said, grinning at his son.

Tiana's thoughts drifted to the bulging fetus which grew by the hour within her. Often these days she hardly even noticed it, yet her unusual appetite and her rapid mood-swings proved it could not be otherwise. And then she would have two sons, or one son and one daughter. And who knew what secrets, what wonder the future held? What would become of the fetus within her now? Who was not yet born, but who would someday die? And how would he die? Murdered, like Lucas (such a young man he was)? Suicide, like Tela (such a young woman she was)? And what would he do? Perhaps he would become the greatest King or the cruelest tyrant Maldonia had ever known. There simply was no telling...

And as she remembered the pain she had experienced when her first child was entering the world, she thought those three months could not stay too far away. But then when she remembered the joy and wonder she had experienced when her first child had entered the world, she felt that those three months could not come too soon. And what if they never came? In a fraction of a second, her second child could have been exterminated, if she had not jumped back before Nigel fell.

She was walking through the hallway towards the line of guards, nearly all strangers to her. Leni, a familiar face, stood at the front of the line, and Axel and Dieter were still among the group, all looking equally serious. But twenty-eight men who she had known for nearly two years were now gone forever, in just one instant. So many times had her life been changed irrevocably without any warning at all. Who knew what was yet to come?

"There shall be no further massacres while we are gone?" Naveen asked.

"No massacres shall take place," Leni replied in a serious tone. Tiana could tell he meant it; although he never expressed it openly, it was obvious from his face every time she saw him that he mourned the guards, Hendit in particular, for Hendit had been his closest friend. "We shall keep a sound watch on the palace while you are gone," Leni continued. He and the guards saluted. "Eternal loyalty to the King and Queen!" they all cried.

Tiana and Naveen passed through them and down the hall. As they walked they passed by Yadav's office. The door was open a crack and they could hear Yadav inside. He sighed, and said in Maldonian, “Twenty-eight good honest men dead on my orders. Needless, painful, disgraceful deaths. There must have been another way... What have I done, O Bolda, that I should be forced to bear the guilt of such deeds? I can never be forgiven..."

And as they passed they saw Yadav sitting in his chair, his head buried in his desk, shaking it and moaning. He did not look up, and so entrenched was he in his misery that he did not hear their footsteps, thus they passed unnoticed.

Naveen felt very sorry for him, but Tiana could not help being angered that he felt no guilt over the deaths of 232 citizens who really meant no harm, though she was glad to know that he had conscience enough to mourn the guards.

They walked down the stairs into the grand hall, where they found Nagina and Kanad waiting to see them off. Kanad ran to Naveen and hugged his knees. "I'll miss you, big brother," he said, looking up at him.

Naveen smiled. "I will miss you, too, Kanad," he said, and bent down and kissed his 8-year-old brother on the forehead.

As he leaned back up, Nagina walked towards him and kissed him on the cheek. "Have a very happy anniversary, my son," she said, smiling. She stepped back and said dreamily, "I remember my first anniversary with Kabir. It was 1896, I was just seventeen years old, and we stayed at the Hotel Bellevue in Berlin. How well I remember that time. Dancing together in the lounge, a beautiful song was playing, and it seemed to me that Kabir was the only man in the world, the only one who mattered." She smiled, lost in reminiscence.

Kanad stood smiling by her side, while Naveen was visibly nervous. Tiana only grew angrier the longer they stayed listening to Nagina prattle on. She hated Nagina with a fiery passion. She had ordered the deaths of all of the 389 people who ran into the palace, and yet she felt not an atom of guilt even for the deaths of the twenty-eight guards.

The smile finally left Nagina's face as she grew melancholy. "And now they are demolishing the place this year."

Naveen shrugged. "Out with the old, in with the new."

Nagina nodded sadly. Tiana only felt more powerfully the urge to kill her. But Nagina leaned in and kissed Naveen on the cheek, smiling once more and said, "Well, enjoy your honeymoons, my darling. Go on! Goodbye!"

And catching Kanad by the hand she turned around and walked hastily back up the stairs. Kanad turned around and waved to Naveen, smiling. Naveen waved back, also smiling. The cuteness of the gesture even brought Tiana out of her anger enough to give a momentary smile, as well, before they walked out the door together.

Five guards stood posted outside, a few with restrained caution and nervousness in their faces, and they were all strange and unfamiliar men to Tiana. But she took barely a glance at them before she and Naveen walked down the yard to where the car stood waiting in the drive. The driver, Gil, sat inside with a serious expression on his face. The royal bodyguards, Tinjeh and Fredrich, stood outside, Tinjeh looking nervous, but both prepared to execute their duty to the fullest.

"Terrible tragedy, good thing you weren't hurt," Tinjeh said as they all stepped into the back seat, and Gil had gotten out and closed the doors behind them.

Naveen nodded as he took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tapped one on the window.

"Rest assured, we will see to it that no harm befalls either of you," Fredrich said, instantly striking a match and leaning in to light Naveen's cigarette.

"May you live for a hundred years," Tinjeh said.

As the car drove away, Tiana looked out the window and watched as the green hills and valleys turned into the city, and they drove past the citizens who were out on the streets. Most of them were still in their mourning clothes and looked the part, but they all bowed respectfully as the car passed, and a few even appeared to do it with the greatest respect.

()()()()

It was around this time that Miss Charlotte LaBouff arrived at Tiana's Palace with her friends, Alice, Marie, Dorothy, and Lavinia. They picked out their usual booth and over their meal they chattered among each other about whatever topic they could think of.

"So how is the Queen of Maldonia, Lottie?" Lavinia asked. It was one of the first times in a month that she had been the one to ask this question, which was a very unusual thing, for Charlotte's other friends had never liked discussion of someone who had overcome the unenviable disadvantage of being a poor negro in the South to attain a position more powerful and esteemed than they or anyone else they knew could ever reasonably dream of. But all that had changed only a bit reluctantly and gradually after the tragedy of the previous month, they had been most eager to exploit the insider knowledge they could gain from having a friend who could get information about a royal family dealing with a world-famous event simply by calling up near whenever she wanted and asking anything. They would present to Charlotte any questions they had about what was going on, and by the next day at the most, find them all answered. And at first it was very interesting news. The King and Queen were very angry at the ex-Queen Nagina for ordering the shooting and lying to the press about the Head of Security, Yadav, being the one responsible. And at first it was difficult to see how to manage this situation where they did not feel they could fire Yadav, and yet Nagina was entirely unwilling to deal with the public disgrace of having committed such terrible actions and then lied to the public about it. Tiana was prepared to tell the country the truth and let Nagina pay for her actions with the public's quiet hatred, but Naveen, though he shared a lot of his wife's anger at his mother, did not really feel he could do such a thing to her. And he and Tiana were the only people who even considered exposing her. They knew Nigel, Clifford, and their advisers would never approve of it, and scarcely had Tiana hinted at it than they all vehemently discouraged it. And soon after word had got out of this, the head guard, Leni, declared he would take responsibility (while being sure to mention he now regretted the decision) and on the 24th of the month, the story went public. And it was very interesting to hear about how the royal family was handling the criticism and hatred they were receiving from the country, and getting details of the Queen's genuine grief and stress over the events, which had added up to a lot of weight gain that was only fortunately masked by her pregnancy. But now a full month and seven days later it had all died down, and they had gone back to being peeved by the mention of Charlotte's royal friend, all except for Lavinia, irritatingly enough.

"Oh, she's just fine, Lavinia," Charlotte replied, putting a glass of soda to her lips and gulping it down. "The whole thing's dying down now. They bought Leni's story and things are startin' to go back to normal, really." She continued, "And she's off on a trip today for her anniversary to a private island. Ain't that romantic?", but the others were not really listening, not even Lavinia. They just silently sat there sipping their soda with distaste and picking at their food.

At last, Dorothy spoke to break the tension. "Well, she set up a hell of a great club here, I'll say that. And when the jazz band starts playin' - fine music, fine food, fine men - what more could you ask for?"

Alice smiled, and said, "Oh, that is true. In fact, I got a proposition for you, ladies. Once jazz hour starts up, we take the floor, we dance off with four of the finest young gentlemen Louisiana has to offer this side of the Missisippi, and have a whoopee, go out on the town and make a proper night of it! What do you say, girls?"

"Copacetic," Dorothy replied with a broad grin.

"And how," Marie giggled.

They turned to look at Lavinia. She held up her hand with a smile, saying "I'm in."

"Me five!" Charlotte cried, holding her hand up with a laugh.

Lavinia appeared aghast, though the other three women did not seem at all surprised. So she forced on a smile and said: "Well, sounds like a plan!" And they all laughed, and Charlotte passed out cigarettes to Alice and Lavinia.

A waitress had walked up to their table. She was a young negro woman with curly hair and bright brown eyes. Charlotte turned around and saw her. "Oh, hello there, Georgia. Give us another round of drinks, will ya?"

"Coming right up, Miss LaBouff," Georgia said forcing a smile that disappeared as soon as she turned around and walked back to the counter, behind which Bessie, a woman in her 30s with a round face and light blue eyes, stood narrowing her eyes and curling her lips as though repulsed. "Disgusting, disgusting!" she spat under her breath.

Georgia nodded with a large frown on her face. "Just because men get up to that mischief don't mean we gotta have our hands dirty, as well."

Bessie shook her head and went back to work, picking up a plate from the counter and polishing it with a cloth.

Their supervisor, Agnes, a white, thin woman of 21, walked out of the kitchen. "Just what are you girls chatterin' about over there that is so much important than your work?" she asked.

"We been workin'!" Georgia protested.

"I'm sorry, Miss Agnes," Bessie said, scrubbing away. "I just can't stand hearin' Miss LaBouff talk about her plans to 'go out on the town and make a proper night of it'."

"Eh? That sounds like a lotta fun," Louis said, walking out of the kitchen. "Ya reckon Miss Lottie might wanna take an ol' gator along?"

"No, no," Georgia replied, waving her hand, with a wry grin. "They're only taking along four of the finest young gentlemen Louisiana has to offer this side of the Missisippi." She shook her head.

"Well, I'll be eager to meet the other three," Louis remarked, matching her grin. He chuckled to himself before an expression of shock came over his scaly face that quickly turned to anger. "You mean she been two-timin' Donald? I seen him over there with her the best ninety-five out of a hundred times this week! Just what in the blue bayou does she think she DOIN'?!"

"Calm down, Louis, for God's sake. Don't make a scene," Agnes said. Scanning the crowd, she was thankful Charlotte's table was not close enough that anyone at it could overhear, and the restaurant was so filled with the sounds of so many conversations that none of the customers could really make out more than a few words Louis was saying.

"The gator's right," Bessie grunted.

"I don't think it's the right way for young ladies to be carryin' on myself," Agnes replied, "but it don't surprise me, neither."

"Agnes is right," Eudora said, standing in the kitchen doorway. "Poor Donald may be gettin' taken for a fool, and I think it's a shame to be unfaithful to a handsome wonderful young man like Donald, but at the same time it ain't none of your concern to be gossipin' like this, neither. So get back to rehearsing, Louis."

"But, Miss Lottie, don't you think Donald oughta know..." Louis asked.

"Yes, maybe he should, though I ain't sure it would surprise him as much as it does you," Eudora said. "But it ain't your place. So get back with the boys, Louis." She grabbed him by the ear and dragged him through the door.

"Ow, ow, I'm comin', Miss Eudora," Louis whined. "Ain't no need to hurt me like that." He pulled his ear free and walked through the door. Eudora watched to make sure he went heading straight to the rehearsal room in the back, then turned her attention to the workers again.

"And the same goes for you too, ladies," she told them. "I am going to tell you what I know that my daughter would tell you if she was here, and that is: Quit your gossipin' and get back to work."

"That's right," Agnes said with a cool nod, and they walked back into the kitchen, leaving the disgruntled and embarrassed Georgia and Bessie behind.

They both kept working and did their best to ignore Charlotte and her friends, who continued their idle chatter and smoking for quite some time.

"Jazz hour ain't too much longer now, is it?" Dorothy reflected eventually, trying to find a clock on the wall.

"Yeah, I reckon we better get all dolled up if we want to take up the dance floor and catch us some ossified young lookers," Alice remarked, taking a drag on her cigarette.

Marie giggled, and Lavinia merely smiled awkwardly and said "Yes, I suppose that's right."

"Okay! I'll see ya, girls! Just give me a little more time and I'll go get myself dolled up, too!" Charlotte giggled, putting out her own cigarette in an ashtray. And so they all excused themselves and left Charlotte sitting there alone, sipping her soda.

By this time, Louis had managed to sneak out of rehearsal, and he stuck his head out the kitchen door to see that Bessie and Georgia had gotten off work. So he casually strutted out the door, the woman who was now on duty behind the counter barely turning to give him a passing look as he walked behind the counter and through the restaurant, ignoring all the customers, those who were not regular patrons staring at him in amusement and consternation, while those who were simply ignored it.

"Man in a costume, Floyd. Quit your gawkin', for God's sake."

Louis made his way up to Charlotte's table where she sat alone sipping casually at her soda glass. Louis slowed down as he neared her, and awkwardly stepped up to her. He cleared his throat discreetly.

Charlotte looked up. "Oh, hi there, Louis!" she said with a smile.

"Hey there, Miss Lottie!" Louis said cheerfully.

"Nice to see ya, Louis," Charlotte chirped.

"Nice to see you, too, Miss Lottie," Louis replied, and he casually leaned in, placing his elbow on her table, and remarked, "But I gotta say, it's awful queer seein' ya here all by yourself."

"Well, I was just with Vinny and the girls, so I ain't really by myself," she explained in a lackadaisical tone, taking another cigarette from her turquoise case and tapping it on the table.

Louis was a bit disconcerted by this reply, and he found himself opening his mouth and then simply standing there, unsure of what to say. But then he smiled and said, "Aw, well, it-it's just that..." Charlotte simply sat there smiling at him and fitting the cigarette into her long black holder as he stumbled over his words. "We, I-I mean, me and Miss Eudora an' all - we's just all grown so used to seein' you sittin' there with... with a fine handsome young man," he said with a wink and a grin. "And I know that he would want to be with you when jazz hour starts up." A slyness crept into Louis's face, and he seized Charlotte by the arm and yanked her onto her feet. Dropping her cigarette holder onto the table, she gave a yelp of surprise as he got into the position with his legs bent and his torso leaning forward, swinging her along by his side. "And you would dance first the Charleston..." He kicked his feet forward and stepped back a few times as he spoke. Charlotte giggled with surprised glee, then he pulled them to an abrupt stop and pulled her up to his face, leaned in, and kissed her. "Then the foxtrot..." For a brief time they did the foxtrot. "Oh!" Charlotte cried in a startled tone. "WHEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!" Again Louis pulled them to a stop. "THEEEN..." he went on, flashing his best alligator grin, as he gripped her hands sharply. "Oh!" she said with a laugh, grinning as he dipped her and she stared up into his eyes.

"Louis." Letting out a cry of alarm and panic, Louis somersaulted backwards, knocking over a startled middle-aged man with a black mustache and a leather briefcase's table.

Eudora stood in front of him, looking down with a gesture of unsurprised disapproval and holding her hands on her hips.

"Oh! Mi- Miss Eudora, I..." he started with a nervous laugh.

"Come along," she said, taking him by the ear and pulling him back.

"Don't worry, Louis. I'm going to be with a fine handsome young man at jazz hour tonight dancin' just like that!" Charlotte called after him, going back to her seat.

"Ohh!" Louis laughed and nodded.

"I just gotta find the right one."

"Yeah." Louis's eyes opened wide in shock and his mouth opened. "N-no. I... You..."

"Come along," Eudora said, pulling him through the door to the kitchen. She smiled at Charlotte before quickly closing it.

The man watched them go, his mouth hanging wide as he stared at the leg of his pants, which was covered in jam.

Charlotte went back to her table and sat there eating. After a few minutes, Lavinia came back through the front door and looked over at the booth Charlotte was seated at to make sure she was still there. She then walked awkwardly back to the table glancing uncomfortably at the patrons, afraid that they were watching, but only a few looked over briefly and none seemed to care. She looked down at Charlotte and cleared her throat.

"Oh, howdy, Lavinia!" Charlotte said, looking up.

"Hi," Lavinia said with a shy smile.

"I thought you was gonna get all dolled up and ready for jazz hour," Charlotte remarked, picking her cigarette holder back up.

"Well, I... Well, I was... I-I am. You see..." Lavinia gulped and sat down next to Charlotte, who was listening eagerly as she held a match to her cigarette. Lavinia started fiddling with her own cigarette case, removing one as she spoke. "That was what I wanted to talk about," she continued. "You see..."

"You already got your gentleman picked out, or are you waiting for the right one to come along?" Charlotte cut in, shaking the match out.

Lavinia held a match to her own cigarette, then shook it out hastily. She took a long drag as she considered her words, then blew out a mouthful of smoke. "Well, jazz hour is a very romantic hour," she pressed on cautiously. "And it should be shared with a very special young man. I mean, it can really be enjoyed only if you're with someone who enjoys you just as much as you enjoy the experience - the melody and free quality of the music, the rhythm of the dancing, and the freedom of such a truly liberating moment, of living only for the sheer joy of it - purely for the fun of life - it's the only thing lacking, of removing the magic, and leaving that one thing you can't quite place it, something isn't quite right, but you can't figure out exactly what it is, you only know you aren't getting into it as much as you could be, and what's more, maybe you can sense it was there once, but isn't now - do you ever feel that way?"

Charlotte gazed at her with her mouth open, transfixed by the power of her words and the surprising truth to it all.

"I-I don't know," was all she could say, as the smoke from her cigarette trickled up placidly into the air around her.

"You can have it, Charlotte, I don't know about myself or about other people, but I think you can! Because I know that there is a very charming, very special man who enjoys spending time with you and the way you talked to me, I would be a fool to claim you don't feel the same - and so do you, don't you? - He is my brother, and his name is Donald."

"Donald." Charlotte was suddenly startled to realize what Lavinia's purpose was, though she now realized it should have been obvious from the startled expression Lavinia had worn the moment she had agreed to the idea.

"He cares about you a great deal, Charlotte," Lavinia pressed her. "He's a very good man and you've come to mean a lot to him. He can hardly stop talking about you," she added, a wry grin coming to her face. "So what do you say?"

Charlotte took a long drag on her cigarette and sat there for a moment, simply breathing the smoke deep into her lungs and thinking. She was in a daze by it all and aware for once of the gravity of the decision at hand. And all at once a smile returned to her face, brighter than one she had had for a long time. "Of course I do! Oh, Lavinia! Your brother is a magnificent, wonderful man, and I'm sure it'll be the berries tonight, Lavinia!" she cried, clasping her hands around her cigarette holder and practically hugging herself with delight. "Gee whiz, Lavinia, what a marvelous, magical thing to say!"

()()()()

Tiana eventually grew weary of the Maldonian landscape as it was an hour's drive to the harbor, and once they arrived they immediately got aboard the ship and left port, and it was another 5 hours spent cramped in the cabin. Tiana passed the time by eating and reading Emily's Quest by L.M. Montgomery, a favorite author of hers in her childhood (she had been reading Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers, but stopped the morning after "the King's Birthday Massacre" as it had become known). Naveen played with his son and mainly spent the time flirting with Tiana and giving her a history of the islands which Maldonia owned. All the while Tiana's stomach lurched more and more as the crash of the waves could be heard below them. At last she could stand it no longer and spent the remainder of the voyage vomiting in the sink.

Tiana had never liked ships even before she had gone on one and discovered her seasickness. She had been only five years old when her parents had talked about the sinking of the RMS Titanic over dinner - "unsinkable," had they called it? In any case they reached the coast of Lisle late in the afternoon without incident.

The brilliant blue water shone with a lucid diaphanous glow in the afternoon sun and the island was covered in tall greenery as far as the eye could see. The ship pulled up into a modest brown dock. Once they had disembarked, one of the royal cars that was manned at the royal base was driven up to the harbor by a driver who Tiana had never seen before and felt uncomfortable getting in with. He drove them down a winding country road which led from the harbor, and Tiana enjoyed the beautiful greenery, fields, and wildlife of the island until they reached an enormous fence, which reached five times the height of a grown man, which was unlocked and manned by two guards who usually worked in the palace but were always called to man the cottage whenever members of the royal family stayed there.

When the driver opened the door of the car, Tiana could hear the ocean rippling on the other side of the cottage and felt disappointed that she could not enjoy the ocean view from her window as the fence doubtlessly spread across the length of the cottage. But as she got out she saw that they had somehow crossed through the doorway of the fence without noticing as the fence closed off a few feet along the path to the cottage, and Naveen said with a smile, "It is a marvelous place. You can just step onto the beach in the morning and bathe in the sea."

"But then why does it even have a fence if anyone can get to the cottage from the back?" Tiana said, shocked.

"Anyone who crosses those waters will be spotted by the Royal Navy," the driver explained. "It is the natives we must concern ourselves with."

Naveen nodded, still smiling, and Tiana too was happy that she could walk along the beach without trouble and have an ocean view though somewhat nervous that the back of the cottage was not directly protected.

"Exactly. The cottage is completely secure. You are perfectly safe, so we will be staying in the prescribed lodgings on the grounds until it is time for your departure," Tinjeh cut in.

Fredrich nodded, and gesturing to the five strange men in royal uniform who stood at various posts around the yard, explained, "The guards will stay monitoring the area out here, and the guards we saw outside the gate will remain there monitoring the exterior." And after a bow and another scramble by Tinjeh to light Naveen's cigarette with a cupped match and a hurried "May you live for a hundred years" off they walked to a small cabin that was clearly only one room and stood a short distance away from the right-hand wall of the cottage.

Tiana couldn't believe it. It all seemed too good to be true. But then again, she reflected. When you're a 19-year-old negro working her ass off day and night just so she can buy a restaurant one day and the Queen of a foreign country the next, the feeling shouldn't be new.

Arm-in-arm Tiana walked with Naveen up to the porch of the cottage. Once they had come in, Tiana felt very guilty that the men who worked tirelessly to keep them alive would be sleeping in such outrageously poor quarters while she and Naveen would be in this marvelous cottage. An enormous grandfather clock stood on the corner of the wall. An enormous oriental rug covered the entire length of the floor, and the finest masterpieces Maldonian painters had drawn hung on the walls, which were painted red with the Maldonian flag (red-and-orange stripes) and the royal crest of arms. An enormous cabinet stood to the ceiling on the right-hand side of the wall. ("The finest wine and whiskey Maldonian brewers can brew," Naveen told her.) A victrola stood by the left-hand side of the wall with a tall shelf of records beside it. Walking over to it, Tiana found that the records were mainly French and Spanish from the 1890s into the early years of the 20th century. Kabir and Nagina must have spent a lot of time here, Tiana reflected. She could just imagine the late King Kabir standing in that very room by the very fireplace his son stood now crooning over his young wife and perhaps laying his favorite maid on occasion, as well, which would eventually have led to the conception of Tela.

"It would be so nice to have our anniversary dinner by the fire. Shame that our anniversary falls at the beginning of spring," Naveen remarked.

So that was why he was so disappointed that King Kabir and I had decided on the wedding being held in March, Tiana thought. And here I thought it was just because he couldn't stand the thought of having to wait so long to marry me.

Leading her by the arm, they entered the kitchen, a place so marvelous her eyes could hardly believe it was real. A beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling with thirteen lit candles over a long wooden table that was covered in a red-and-white tablecloth with the finest silverware in the land set all along it. An iron refrigerator with a polished diamond handle, which when Tiana opened it, revealed all the most magnificent food your heart could desire. Fresh chicken, turkey, ham, what looked to be a cake and a pie both wrapped in tin foil, a large loaf of bread placed on a shelf with a carving knife beside it. When she opened the cupboards, she found on shelves made of solid brass the ingredients of the finest New Orleans dishes: red beans and rice, jambalaya, gumbo, and beignets.

Naveen looked over it all with just as hungry and enchanted an eye as Tiana. Licking his lips, he said sadly, "It is a shame that we will not have time enough to consume the marvelous feast which our servants have prepared for us."

Guilt further engulfed Tiana as she thought of those servants working tirelessly to supply the cabin with the most marvelous of food and drink, none of which they could ever themselves consume. But Naveen merely took a drag of his cigarette, blew out a cloud of smoke into the air, took her by the arm and said, "Now let me show you the bedroom." And he opened a large wooden door painted red in the wall and off they walked down a long wide hallway. The floor and walls were made of marble. The wall, on which hung more paintings, was painted with the Maldonian crest of arms and the Maldonian flag, and along the hallway were many statues of the great Maldonian kings and queens of the past and several stands on which stood golden ashtrays emblazened with the Maldonian flag on the front. They were all perfectly clean, and Naveen butted his cigarette in one as they passed.

Naveen abruptly stopped at one of the doors in the hall. Tiana realized, somewhat uncomfortably, that Naveen had been here many times before, probably with Lucas and any number of girls during his wild playboy days. He opened the door, and at last Tiana's guilt could remain contained no longer. It was the most beautiful room you could magine: It was lit by a large chandelier that hung from the ceiling, the walls were marble, and it was a very long wide room with a polished stone floor. There were marble pedestals planted about the walls, on which stood fresh ashtrays. There was a large wooden wardrobe at the back of the room, and a golden mirror with drawers full of every make-up you could imagine inside. And against the wall stood an enormous wooden bed made up with clean beautiful white sheets with at least a dozen beautiful white pillows placed up against the headboard. Tiana knew at once that if ever Charlotte entered the room, no man nor woman nor child should ever be able to remove her from it.

She shook her head and turned to Naveen, who was smiling broadly. "It is beautiful, no?"

Tiana nodded. "It certainly is. And I just can't stand thinking of poor Tinjeh and Fredrich having to huddle up in that lonely old shack while we're living it up in here." She shook her head. "It just ain't right, Naveen. I'm gonna go to the shack and tell 'em that they can have this room and we'll hole up in the shack." And she made a move for the door, but Naveen moved in front of her and grabbed her hands, waving a finger to his lips and shaking his head.

"No, no. Nothing must disturb these two lovers on their anniversary. Besides, they will be perfectly happy in their cabin. They will basically just lie around and play cards and smoke cigarettes while we are having a good time in here," Naveen said, grinning broadly at her.

"I don't know," she said. "No, I don't feel up to anything really at the moment, Naveen."

Naveen was horrified. "What? But, darling, this is our honeymoon! You should be enjoying yourself, not fretting about the servants!"

"It ain't just that. I-I-I just..." Tiana shook her head, unable to put words to the exact cause of the depression and regret that so engulfed her. But Naveen understood at once. The deaths of the guards had deeply affected her and she wished to give them the room largely as a way of making it up to them.

He could tell she wished to be left alone, so he mostly bustled about listening to records, eating, and smoking cigarettes. Tiana wanted to clean the house, but she could find no place that was not already thoroughly cleaned. So she sat on her bed and read, and at some point she looked up to find to her astonishment that she had clearly fallen asleep.

She looked around the room. Naveen was nowhere to be found, and the doors were closed. Then she smelled the familiar scent of Naveen's cigarette smoke from the hall, and at once she hid her head in the pillows. She heard the door close and a cigarette being butted out in the ashtray. Without a sound Naveen walked up to the bed, scooped Tiana up and carried her down the hall over his shoulders. He placed her in a chair, and she opened her eyes dreamily to find herself at the head of the long wooden table in the kitchen. Freshly lit candles stood in holders in front of her and Naveen who sat across from her, and between them was a plate covered in oysters, a plate of chicken with creamy mushrooms fringed by strawberries, and another plate of jambalaya.

"Your favorites, no?" Naveen said. "And perhaps they will become our new baby's favorites, too. After all, old habits die hard."

They were her favorite foods, but somehow none of them seemed appetizing to her at the moment. Nor even to the infant within her growing ever larger by the day. But the fact that she did not answer made Naveen think that perhaps he had been wrong. Maybe her preferences had changed. But the thought that he had just humiliated himself merely drew his attention back to the day that they first met.

"Well, anyway, it is a better meal than the first one I fixed you, right?" he said with a grin. "You remember how I kept falling over myself? 'I have dated thousands of women, but you- No, no, just two or three!' 'You are just like one of the guys! Uh, no, no, you are not a guy!' But fortunately you agreed to marry me and we became the happiest frogs in the world, warts and all. And we still are."

But it was no use. She did want to be lulled into a romantic, reminiscent mood and to forgo her current grief, but somehow Tiana just couldn't. Not yet.

()()()()

Naveen's uncle, Akhil, had been a very active and energetic man when he was young, and had been strong enough to move for most of the previous year, but he had suffered a stroke 3 months ago, and though it had been very mild, he was weakened by it to the point that he could no longer move, and merely lay in bed all day. Laziness came very naturally to him, however, so he was not too bothered.

His closest friend was Ojas, his sister-in-law Nagina's brother, who would visit him often. Akhil was also often visited by his mother, Niru, one of the few women who could stand being around him. And on this day both of them had come to visit him as he lay in his bed, infirm.

Ojas was a 59-year-old man of average height, with thin gray, curled hair, and a wrinkled face that was nonetheless full of humor and life. Niru was a small, delicate woman of 86 years who had a very wrinkled face, very gray, bushy hair, and walked with a limp, slowly and carefully.

Both she and Ojas stood by Akhil's bed. Niru gazed down at her son ruefully. "I hope that you are feeling well, my son."

"Don't worry, Mother. I feel perfectly fine," Akhil assured her, managing a small grin.

"Of course he does, and he'll be perfectly fine, too," Ojas said, nodding. "After all, after you've had a stroke, all the pain is over and done with, and all you have to do is relax and wait for the next one, and then all your suffering will be gone forever!"

Akhil laughed heartily, but Niru glared at Ojas disapprovingly.

"How can you joke about such a thing?" she asked angrily.

Ojas shrugged. "Why should I be dismal and depressed about death? It shall happen whether we like it or not, so I might as well make some humor of it."

"Do not be angry, Mother. I could use a good laugh in my current state," Akhil told her.

Ojas nodded. "Care for a cigarette, old chum?" he asked, taking a pack from his pocket.

Akhil smiled up at him. "Certainly."

Ojas took one from the pack and placed it in Akhil's lips, then he took another one from the pack and put it in his own mouth. He struck a match and lit Akhil's cigarette, then lifted it up and lit his own. Akhil took a deep drag and then exhaled a great cloud above his head, leaning back blissfully.

Niru stared down at her son, filled with pity. "He's right, you know," she said. "You are 61 years old, after all."

"True," Akhil said, shrugging his shoulders. "But if I live to my birthday in June, then I will have achieved a very impressive feat."

"Yes," Ojas said, nodding. "And you will get to see your old boy, Lucas, again." He turned to Niru. "Remember that, Niru. He will be with his Lucas again."

Akhil took a long drag on his cigarette as he leaned back against the fluffy white pillows which stood against the head of his bed, smiling. "Fine young man he was. Shame that he should meet such an untimely demise, and such an indignity to be murdered. But at least that bastard child has left this world herself now."

"She took her own life," Ojas reminded him.

"Yes," Akhil said, nodding and tapping an ash into the ashtray on the bedside. "She could not stand the guilt of murdering my son. Very kind of your sister to let me read the note she left behind."

Niru stared down at her son, her face still contorted in deep sorrow. "And you will be with your brothers again."

"Yes," Akhil said, gazing into the air with a smile on his face, lost in reminiscence. "I can hardly remember old Bikram now. He's been gone 35 years. 36 if I live to July."

Niru nodded, her eyes welling with tears at the memory of her late son who had been killed at the age of 24 leading the Giodonian rebel forces against Tyfalsh in the Battle of Karnataka.

"And I shall see Kabir again. Ah, Kabir. What a good man he was," Akhil said, sighing. "The country is worse off for his death. Those terrible deaths would never have taken place under his watch."

"Such dreadful events," Niru said, shaking her head with a pained expression on her face. "260 people, dead."

"Well, it shall teach the Maldonian people a lesson," Akhil said, a smile forming on his face. "They shall not be so quick to run into the royal palace next time, shall they?" He laughed, pointing his finger in the air.

"True," Ojas said. "But the 28 guards are quite a loss."

"Oh, indisputably," Akhil agreed. "But the key should have been kept inside the gates. And Kabir would have seen to it that the people were stopped before they got within 10 feet of the palace."

"Nagina told me that something like this happened when Kabir turned 18," Ojas remarked.

"Oh, yes, I remember that time well," Akhil said, nodding. "But Kabir wasn't King yet, so he had no control over the situation. But Father had it settled rather quickly."

"He was a good King," Niru said, bowing her head, feeling yet more sorrow.

"It would be nice to see him again. He will have been dead 23 years this August, but I remember him well," Akhil said.

Ojas blew smoke out of his mouth. "I met him once or twice as a child. He came to a few balls at our palace," he said.

"Maldonia was in good hands during his reign. But where are our young King and Queen right now? Off making love on a tropical island." Akhil scoffed disdainfully.

"What?" Niru said, her mouth dangling open in astonishment.

"They are celebrating their 2nd wedding anniversary," Akhil explained. "Didn't take them long to get over the deaths of those 28 guards." He blew out a disdainful ring of smoke.

"Well, we cannot mourn forever, Akhil," Ojas said, reflecting on how little Akhil seemed to mourn deaths at all.

"Of course. But it isn't a good image for the people for the King and Queen to go on a gay honeymoon only a month after such tragic events."

Ojas and Niru both agreed, and after exchanging a few more words, they said their goodbyes to Akhil and left the room, and walked down the long, gray hallway with turrets on the sides of the room, and old carpets on the floor, then began walking down a flight of red-colored steps.

Niru sighed with her hands on the silver guard-rail, gazing at Ojas mournfully. "Two of my sons dead," she croaked, "and the other so old and infirm that he is confined to his bed."

"Think positively, Niru," Ojas said with a grin. "After all, you never could get him to stay in one bed."

()()()()

A young negro woman named Mabel stood in the entrance of her living room, staring at her husband, Deron, who was seated in his armchair by the hearth calmly puffing at his pipe, seemingly completely at peace.

She couldn't make any sense of it. Just 1 month ago, he had come home from work and done nothing but sit in his armchair for hours with his hands motionless on the arms, sitting stock-still with an expression on his face that reflected the deepest terror, worry, and unease.

So serious was his demeanor that Mabel had no doubt in her mind that something had gone horribly wrong in his life, and it would very likely affect her, as well, and she could do nothing but lie awake at night in anxiety wondering what could possibly have happened. But now, there he was - just having finished his dinner heartily and eagerly, and sitting in his armchair calmly puffing at his pipe, seemingly without a care in the world.

Deron's behavior had been so utterly serious and alarming that it left no room for Deron's problem not being as severe as she had originally thought, so Mabel was left to wonder what terrible event had taken place in Deron's life to affect him so badly, and how it had been solved. Maybe he was only afraid that his boss would fire him, she thought. Maybe he'd been laying people off left and right, and he was afraid he'd be next. But then his boss came up to him and told him how proud of his work he was, maybe even gave him a pay raise. Yes, yes, that's probably it. Of course...

Or perhaps he had been stuck up on the street and robbed of a full week's pay, and after a week of searching the police found the man and returned Deron his money. But, no, no... that was ludicrous. The cops in New Orleans would never care so much about a Negro being robbed. She remembered Georgia down at Tiana's Palace telling her about how a friend of hers, a 25-year-old Negro woman named Catherine Burwell, had gone missing from her house one night. When the police were called, they made no attempt to hide their lack of concern. Her corpse had been found at the house the next day.

Mabel thought that her first guess was likely to be right, but she thought that perhaps she had been too optimistic. The way Deron had behaved, it may have been something much worse... She was being driven insane by it. She couldn't stand not knowing. His behavior was so severe. What had happened?

Her husband's voice bore into her trance, smashing it instantly. "Mabel?"

Blinking rapidly, she saw her husband standing a few feet away in the living room facing her. His pipe lay on the chair's arm. "Yes, dear?" she said, gaping.

"Will you come over here, please?" he asked.

Mabel slowly nodded, her mouth hanging open. She walked slowly and carefully over to Deron, who sat back down in the armchair. She walked in front of him, still anxious. "Yes, dear?" she asked quietly.

Deron stared at her for a few moments. The words seemed to be hard for him to say, but he took a breath and began. "I suppose I must have scared you last month," he said. Mabel's heart began beating rapidly. She was rooted to the spot, restless with shock and confusion.

Deron took another deep breath and bowed his head. "I'm awful sorry 'bout that," he said. She remained silent, hardly willing to believe what she was hearing. "I must have really had you scared, and I'm sorry for that."

Mabel took a deep breath, then found her voice. "Well... I-I was very concerned about what might have happened." Deron looked up at her pitifully. "But I do think that I need to know. What happened to cause that?"

Deron stared at her for a moment, his face full of regret, then he nodded. "You have the right to know. I hope you'll forgive me keeping a secret like this from you."

Mabel remained silent, her heart racing in anticipation of his explanation.

Deron took his eyes away from her and looked down, took another deep breath, then breathed the words slowly and awkwardly, occasionally looking up. "You see.. it... it was a typical job. I was cleanin' the window, and I... and I heard somebody come in, h-his name was Mr. Waterford, and he asked the other guy, H-Henry his name was, why they was meetin' at a hotel since Henry lived so close, and he told him that he had gotten word that, uh, "King Gorilla" would be staying next door. Mr. Waterford told him he hoped it was on the level, because this King Gorilla fella'd been giving them trouble for years. And... and then H-Henry told him that he would 'bump off' King Gorilla when he showed up. Said he'd sneak in and get him, drive him off to... to a safe place, then he'd go back, check out, then go back and... kill him."

Mabel stared at him, her mouth dangling wide open. She had been being too optimistic. This was worse, far worse than she could ever have fathomed. "But... but how did you happen to hear all this, Deron?" she said quietly.

"I didn't, Mabel," Deron said, his mouth wide open, uncomfortable and wary. "I didn't hear a goddamn thing."

Mabel stared at him with her mouth wide open in disbelief, unable to speak, then cried, "What in the world do you mean you didn't hear nothing? You just told me that..."

Deron stood up in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders, making eye contact. "You know when I came back here and sat down a nervous wreck all day? That was the day that Henry was gonna strike. So I drove back to the hotel at night. It was too early for anybody to go to bed, so I snuck into the hotel room and waited in the closet for hours. Just waited. But nobody ever showed up, Mabel. Nobody."

Mabel continued to stare at him, her mouth hanging open.

Deron continued, "But why? It was the right day, the right room, couldn't'a been the wrong time. So why in the hell didn't nobody never show up? 'Cause there never was nobody, that's why. There wasn't no murder plot. You see, it gets awful boring up there, scrubbing away at windows all day. Fella needs a little excitement, even if he has to make it up for himself. And that's exactly what my brain did. I sat there so bored and lonely I made up the whole thing in my mind just to entertain myself. It was a hallucination." He nodded and turned around, sitting back in his chair. "I can see it now, it's the only explanation." He took his pipe from the arm, then took some tobacco from a tray on the table and kneaded it into his pipe as he spoke. Mabel could do nothing but continue to stare, utterly confounded. "I just took it too seriously, that's all. Nobody's gonna get killed. Nobody never was. So everything's okay." He nodded, looking up at his spell-bound wife, then struck a match on the chair arm and held the flame over his pipe, then shook it out and leaned back.

Mabel watched him puff on his pipe, utterly overwhelmed and at a loss for words. Suddenly her shock turned to anger, and she jumped in at him, pointing her index finger.

"Deron, what in the hell was you thinking? Don't you value your life at all?" He took the pipe from his lips, looking up at her in confusion. "You could have gotten yourself killed! You could have died and left me a widow!"

Deron grew angry now, too, throwing his pipe to the table. "No, I couldn't!" he yelled. "I told you, Mabel, there never was nothing to kill me! I made the whole goddamned thing up!"

"But suppose there had been, Deron? Then what would have happened, Deron?" Mabel said, leaning in furiously.

Deron leaped to his feet, just as angry, and cried, waving his finger in the air, "Then I would have gone in there and died a hero's death saving an innocent man's life!" He glared at her, his eyes narrowed in pure fury.

Mabel stared at him, still angry, her eyes narrowed, as well. They both simply glared at each other, until at last Mabel hung her head. "You're right," she said, nodding. "You would have died a hero's death." She looked up at Deron, taking a deep breath. "Just don't let your imagination get the better of you again, that's all."

Deron nodded, taking his pipe back from the table, and sat back down in his chair. "Don't worry, Mabel. I won't." With that he casually struck another match and lit his pipe again.

Mabel stared at him for a few more seconds, then turned around and left the room, leaving Deron seated in his chair, calmly puffing at his pipe without a care in the world.

()()()()

It was very late at night by the time Miss LaBouff returned to her father's mansion. She and Donald Lyte had spent many hours on the dance floor at Tiana's Palace together by then, and still it seemed to Charlotte that they danced into her bedroom in an odd dreamlike stupor from which they had yet to awake.

They had made it down the hall without being spotted by Eli LaBouff, and it came suddenly to Charlotte to close the door and latch it shut.

"I can handle your father," Donald chuckled.

"Don't you worry about him," Charlotte giggled back. "For God's sakes, a man's got things he ain't no business knowing."

"Well, I know one thing that's certain, Miss LaBouff," Donald said.

"Oh? What's that?" Charlotte said dreamily.

He gazed deep into her eyes. "That is that when we danced together and that song was playing over the phonograph as that big gator danced up on the stage and flashed his pearly-white smile, I felt like you were the only girl in the world, the only one who mattered or would ever matter to me."

Charlotte smiled brightly. "Oh, Donald," she said in a low voice. "I felt exactly the same way!"

And moving forward, she pressed her lips firm against his and knocked him backwards onto her bed, and there they lay locked in a firm embrace, their lips locked tightly together.

()()()()

Big Daddy couldn't explain it, even to himself, but all through the month he had left the letter from his brother Bertram in his letter-holder on the mantel without giving another thought to it. It was only now that he remembered it was there, and he was utterly astonished as to how he could have forgotten. His father could be dead by now.

He imagined his father lying in his bed weak and infirm (a disturbing thought in and of itself)waking up every morning in relief that he was still alive and asking his servants if Eli had replied yet, and each time the answer would be no. And at last his father gave up all hope, great tears flooding from his eyes as he passed away into the afterlife believing that his son did not love him and was so cruel as to not even pretend he did...

This thought so utterly disturbed Big Daddy he was left utterly unnerved and astonished at the fact that it could very well be true. Certainly his father's doctors had been all but certain he would survive a few months longer. But even in these modern times certain mistakes could happen, and his father's health could rapidly deteriorate (he was old, and perhaps he might suddenly develop some new, more immediately lethal ailment!), and perhaps he would even receive a letter in a few days informing him of his father's death!

Big Daddy was seated in his armchair, his thoughts frenetic and panicked. It was ridiculous, utterly ludicrous and unbelievable. Why did he merely sit here speculating over such things? He was his father's son! He was entitled to know whether his father was still alive or not!

The trouble was he didn't know the phone number of his father, Bertram, or anyone on their side of the family. He had known them all once, but he had long since forgotten, lost the paper on which the numbers were written, and besides they had likely changed since then.

It was interesting that no phone numbers had been printed in Bertram's letter. Big Daddy knew Bertram would have preferred a phone call, so their father must have demanded that no phone numbers be given. He was overcome with guilt, realizing how little his father thought of him, that he did not believe Big Daddy would come to see his father in person for his last days of life.

And now his father must think even worse of him. If he was dead he would have died depressed or angry, thinking his son didn't even love him enough to come see him on his deathbed. And if he was alive now he would doubtless be thinking his son didn't even love him enough to come see him before he died. But if his father was still alive then there was still time to prove otherwise. He imagined him getting into his car and having his driver drive him to his father's mansion as fast as he could. But Bertram would mock such informality, and he was not at all in the mood to be mocked by Bertram. So he would simply write a letter to his father's mansion asking if his father was still alive and telling them he would come soon.

He leaped up and ran to his desk which stood at the end of the room. It was an old brown desk, on which stood a pile of paper stacked in the corner and several fountain pens lined up in a row. He sat at the desk, took one of the fountain pens and a piece of paper and wrote:

Dear Daddy,

I am very sorry I did not write sooner. I don't know what came over me. I hope your health hasn't gotten worse. I will be coming to see you soon.

Love,

Your son, Eli LaBouff

()()()()

Tiana sat in a modest brown rowboat, paddling the oars endlessly across a long clear blue sea that spread out as far as the eye could see. The sun was dark orange on the horizon, yet Tiana sailed on, stirring the waters with the oars hour after hour until the sun rose high in the air and a great island lay on the horizon. It was the most beautiful island Tiana had ever seen, covered in green palm trees splashed with the orange-and-yellow light of dusk, and Tiana continued to turn the oars in the water, her heart beating ever faster as she neared the island.

Again and again the oars stirred the waves, but soon they were sifting the sand of the shore and Tiana took her hands off them and looked at the island. Not far from the coast a line of tall trees spread into a forest as far as the eye could see.

Tiana stood up, her knees trembling, and walked into the forest, the sun shining bright in the sky behind her. The trees curved upward, the leaves blocking out the sky, but she could see the morning sun's light reflected in the canopy, and for a few minutes Tiana simply stood, mesmerized by the pure beauty of the island and overcome by sheer happiness.

Her reverie was broken by the sensation of a hand on her left shoulder. Her heart gave a leap in shock, and she turned, startled, then jumped back, speechless. In front of her stood a tall negro man with curly black hair, a kind, open face with a friendly smile, clothed in a powder blue shirt and dark blue pants with brown suspenders.

She stood, gaping at him for some time. Her father stood before her, no question of it. But how? How could it be him, when he had been gone so long?

James stayed where he was, continuing to smile at her, love and admiration in his eyes.

"No. It... it can't be you," Tiana breathed in a choked voice.

James's smile grew broader, and Tiana's lips spread into a large smile, as well, and she walked closer to him, taking in the sight of him standing before her again, filled with happiness and disbelief. "I ain't seen you for ten years," she said in a low tone almost to herself.

James put a hand on Tiana's shoulder, still smiling. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked into his face. "But I've seen you, babycakes," he said. He shook his head. "There ain't been a single day since I left that I ain't looked down on you from Heaven, and there ain't been a single day that I ain't been happy for you and the way your life has been."

Tiana's eyes spilled over with tears and she closed her eyes, her heart about to burst with emotion. She leaned her head onto his chest. "I've missed you so much."

She opened her eyes, and saw James smiling down on her. He patted her on the back. She found herself unable to do anything but stare into his affectionate eyes. "I know," he said. "But don't worry about that. You'll see me again, and so will your mama. It might not be for a long time, but we'll be together again." He gently let go and moved away. "And then we'll be together for ever."

Nodding his head, he turned around and walked into the forest. She looked after him confused, but he looked back and motioned to her to follow. She glanced ahead of him and saw in the distance a figure so far off she could barely glimpse it. It was walking closer and closer to her, but only an inch per second, and all she could determine was that it was a human shape, well into the island from the opposite shore yet not fully formed. And there was something oddly familiar about it, too - but now she spotted her father who was walking farther away from her by the second - she lost track of the distant figure completely and walked after him, and on they went through the forest.

Although the forest had been deep when Tiana first arrived, they came out of it now almost immediately into a wide sandy area with the great sea on one side crushing its waves onto the shore, tall trees with bright green branches marking the edges, with bright greenery strewn about the ground, but what drew Tiana's attention immediately was the large castle that stood in the very center of the area, beyond which there was nothing but empty space as far as the eye as could see. The castle was a magnificent structure built of white brick, a tall fortress that loomed some 150 feet high with tall blue pyramidal turrets jutting out into the bright blue sky.

It was a clear path in front of the two large wooden doors that closed the castle, and Tiana found herself walking right up to them and pulling them open, then stepping in. There was nothing but one wide, empty room inside with a white tile floor, and another story above which had no wall blocking it off, but a railing one could look off of into the room below.

Tiana jumped back in shock, her heart beating rapidly. Tela ran up to her, looking as young and pretty as she had in life, a bright smile across her face.

"Tela... Tela, it can't be you," Tiana said in a low, choked voice. "I've missed you, Tela. I've missed you so much. Oh, why did you have to do it? We could have helped you, Tela!"

Tiana's heart gave another leap as she saw the figures who stood a few feet ahead of Tela. Her grandmother, who had taken her own life out of grief and insanity caused by her son, James' death in the Great War, and her aunt Madaline, who too had given up on the world after losing both her sister and her nephew. They were still the gray-haired aging women they had been in life, adorned in their favorite evening dresses.

"Oh, Grandma... Oh, Aunt Madaline... It's so good to see you all again..."

"Tiana? Is that you?" Grandma Julia said, squinting.

"You've grown so much," Aunt Madaline said, beaming. She looked as though her heart were about to burst with joy, as well.

James moved up to the two women, smiling. They smiled at him as well, and he bent down and kissed his mother on the head. "Fine life she's made for herself," he said, nodding in Tiana's direction.

Ray flew up to Tiana's face. "Oh chere, it - is - so - good to see you again!" he said excitedly, and laughed heartily.

Tiana smiled. "It's good to see you too again, Ray. Louis's missed you, too."

"Aw, give that big ol' gator a hug for me, Miss Tiana!" Ray chuckled.

Tiana gasped loudly and clutched her heart, feeling as if it were about to burst. Up on the railing above stood Mrs. Potter, one of Eudora's closest friends when Tiana was a child, exactly as Tiana remembered her in life, with curly black hair, twinkling young eyes, and wearing her long magenta dress. To the right of her stood Mr. Baker and Mr. Halpstein, friends of both Eudora and James during Tiana's childhood years. Mr. Baker was a round, jovial man with a friendly face, wearing his brown fedora and blue overalls with red suspenders that went over the shoulders of his white shirt. Mr. Halpstein was a kindly old man, his gray hair balding, wearing eyeglasses, a plain white shirt and plain gray trousers fastened with a black belt. To the right of them stood King Kabir dressed in his royal vest and wearing the royal crown that Naveen now wore, a sly grin under his thin black mustache and pure-white hair. He was flanked by 20 of the deceased guards, Hendit, Pachai, Tokar, Ridan, Timos, Wajid, Fazir, Mikan, Hakin, Miko, Zehan, Motar, Bihar, Jamui, Richir, Jaspur, Kalol, Lahar, Pusad, and Rajor, all dressed in their royal uniforms.

"Good evening there, Your Majesty!" Kabir cried, and blew a kiss to her. "I trust that you have made my husband a very happy man!"

Tiana could hardly contain her joy. Her eyes flashed excitedly from one person to the next. "Oh, Hendit... Oh, Pachai, Tokar, Timos, Fazir, Wajid, it's so good to see you all again... Oh, Mr. Baker, Mrs. Potter, Grandma, Aunt Madaline, Tela..." They all smiled brightly as she looked at them.

She felt such indescribable happiness at being able to be with them again. She never wanted it to end. She wanted to stay with them, here in this house, for the rest of her life...

()()()()

A wave of nausea fell over her as she felt tiny feet swing into the inside of her stomach. And again... and again. She groaned, looking around. She was lying in her bed in the royal cottage on the Island of Lisle. She was not in the castle. There was no castle. Her father, her grandmother, her aunt, Mr. Halpstein, Mr. Baker, Mrs. Potter, Tela, Ray, King Kabir, and the guards were still dead. They were gone forever. As long as she lived she would never be able to see or hear from them ever again.

But her husband lay by her side under the blanket. Not yet asleep, his eyes opened slightly and he said, "What is the matter, my love?"

Again the baby kicked, and again Tiana groaned. "Baby keeps kicking me something awful."

"Well, I will be sure to properly punish it once it is born," Naveen assured her.

Tiana smiled. "No. I'm sure it don't mean to cause no harm."

"That is why we must teach it," Naveen replied.

Tiana laughed and lay back, her thoughts changing to a sudden bliss. "It'll be so good when she's born... to have a whole new person in our lives, and in our family," Tiana breathed. "Birth is a wonderful thing."

Ever since those guards and commoners had fallen out of the window more than a month ago, Naveen could tell that his wife was dwelling on death and those in her lives who had passed. Now it was beyond all doubt.

Tiana noticed him staring at her with wide concerned eyes and added hastily, "Well, not giving birth, of course. I mean what comes afterwards."

"I know what you meant," Naveen told her. He leaned forward, wrapping an arm around her back. "It will be perfectly grand to have two young boys..." he said, his voice trailing off.

"Just how you know it will be two young boys?" Tiana asked.

Naveen shrugged. "I got it right the first time."

Tiana rolled her eyes, but smiled, closing her eyes. "Either way it turns out, I'll be happy to have two beautiful, wonderful children," she said quietly.

Naveen leaned up over her and wrapped his other arm around her, so that he lay over her. "Two beautiful, wonderful children, and one beautiful, wonderful wife. What more could a man ask for?"

Tiana giggled as he pulled the blanket over both of them. And she forgot her woes and her mourning and enjoyed the time she had with one whom she loved.

They made sweet panza until the sun was high in the sky.


End file.
